Audiobook Review:

Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen

Read by Will Damron

Published: May 2025

Summary from Goodreads:

“The afternoon of September first, dishwater-gray and rainy, a man named Dale Figgo picked up a hitchhiker on Gus Grissom Boulevard in Tangelo Shores, Florida. The hitchhiker, who reminded Figgo of Danny DeVito, asked for a lift to the interstate. Figgo said he’d take him there after finishing an errand.”

Thus begins Fever Beach, with an errand that leads—in pure Hiaasen-style—into the depths of Florida at its most a sun-soaked bastion of right-wing extremism, white power, greed, and corruption. Figgo, it turns out, is the only hate-monger ever to be kicked out of the Proud Boys for being too dumb and incompetent. On January 6, 2021 he thought he was defacing a statue of Ulysses S. Grant, but he wound up spreading feces all over a statue of James Zacharia George, a Civil War Confederate war leader.

Figgo’s already messy life is about to get more complicated, thanks to two formidable adversaries. Viva Morales is a newly transplanted Floridian, a clever woman recently taken to the cleaners by her ex-husband, now working at the Mink Foundation, a supposedly philanthropic organization, and renting a room in Figgo’s apartment because there’s no place else she can afford. Twilly Spree has an anger management problem, especially when it comes to those who deface the environment, and way too many inherited millions of dollars. He’s living alone a year after his dog died, two years after he sank a city councilman’s party barge, and three years after his divorce.

Viva and Twilly are plunged into a mystery—involving dark money and darker motives—they are determined to solve, and become entangled in a world populated by some of Hiaasen’s most outrageous Claude and Electra Mink—billionaire philanthropists with way too much plastic surgery and a secret right-wing agenda—and Congressman Clure Boyette—who dreams of being Florida’s (and maybe America’s) most important politician. The only things standing in his way are his love for hookers and young girls, and his total lack of intelligence. We meet Noel Kristianson—a Scandinavian agnostic injured when Figgo thinks he’s a Jewish threat to humanity and runs him over with his car; Jonus Onus—Figgo’s partner in white power idiocy; and many, many more. Hiaasen ties them all together and delivers them to their appropriate fates, in his wildest and most entertaining novel to date.

Confession:

This was a very funny story. It had everything that I expect from this author, over the top characters, a plot that will keep you guessing and biting commentary on American culture as it stands today. I very much enjoyed listening to this crazy story.

Will Damron did a marvelous job narrating this story. He is very good at making the story and the characters come to life. He has a very deep and soothing voice, but can do woman well. His voice for one of the characters was really well done, and had me laughing every time that character spoke. Even though there are multiple characters telling the story, Will does an excellent job with each of those points of view.

There are a lot of great characters in this story, and many of them are villains. But even the villains are kind of fun and you can’t help but like them. I really enjoyed all of them and many of them are well fleshed out. I loved Twilly and Viva and think they make a great couple. I really hope that there is another book featuring these two. Even though Figgo is a villain, I still really liked him, because he was just so funny. He is a bit of a cartoon caricature of a white supremacist, but I think there are a lot of people out there who are just like him, unfortunately. I also really liked Galaxy, the young escort who gets the congressman in so much trouble. She was one smart lady and deserves to live a happy life.

The story is pretty fast paced and has a lot of moving parts. It is a bit of a mystery, sort of, but the reader is privy to all of the characters motives and actions, so it isn’t really a mystery to us. But it was fun watching Twilly and Viva but it all together. I loved all of the jabs at corrupt politicians, MAGA and a few even at the president who remains nameless, but we know who the author means. The setting of Florida was as usual perfect for this story and really helped to sell the whole thing. Those Floridians are a bit on the crazy side, (personally I think it is all that sunshine) so I could totally see something like this unfolding.

I really enjoyed this one and fans of the author’s work will love it too. If you are unfamiliar with his style of satire this one is a good place to start. Highly recommend if you are looking for a funny read that will also have you laughing at our sometimes ridiculous American culture.